YourName:LiannaHernandez

TitleofLesson:WhatisaHeatWave?
Grade:4th

LESSONPLANTEMPLATE

STANDARDS
F.4.2 ( Grades: K-4 ): Changes in environments can be natural or influenced by humans. Some changes are
good, some are bad, and some are neither good nor bad. Pollution is a change in the environment that can
influence the health, survival, or activities of organisms, including humans.
PO2.Evaluatetheconsequencesofenvironmentaloccurrencesthathappeneitherrapidly(e.g.,fire,flood,
tornado)oroveralongperiodoftime(e.g.,drought,meltingicecaps,thegreenhouseeffect,erosion).
LESSONSUMMARY/OVERVIEW
Withtoday'slesson,studentswilllearnaboutsustainabilityandtheimportanceofpracticingbehaviorsthat
keepourenvironmentbalancedbywatchingavideothatwilldepictclimatechangeandtheeffectsithason
ourenvironmentaroundtheworld.Studentswillalsolearnthatextremeweathercanresultinthelackof
sustainablebehaviorsandfocusonwhataheatwaveisandhowitoccurs.Studentswilldiscussasaclass
specificdiscussionquestionsandbrainstormdifferentideasthatcancontributetobeingsustainable.Students
willrecordtheirthoughtsandideasintheirsciencejournalforDay5.
OBJECTIVES
Studentswillbeabletoexplainthataheatwaveisaprolongedperiodofexcessiveheatthatcanresultin
environmentaldevastation.
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Studentswillbegiventhreequestionstoanswerrelatedtothevideowatchedinclass.Thelastquestionwill
allowstudentstoreflectonwhattheylearnedaboutheatwavesandwhattheycandotokeepsafeduringthis
extremeweathercondition.
PREREQUISITEKNOWLEDGE
Studentswillbefamiliarwithweatherconditionsandthepossibleconsequencestheypresent.
MATERIALS
WhiteBoard
WhiteBoardMarkers
VideoClip
Worksheet
Questionnaire
ScienceJournal
VOCABULARY/KEYWORDS
HeatWaveaperiodofunusuallyhotweather.
Climateaplacewithparticularweatherpatternsorconditions.

TEACHINGPROCEDURES
ProceduralSteps(Stepbystepinstructionsforteachingthelesson):
Teacherwillengagestudentsinlessonbyaskingeachstudenttowritedownthreethingstheydoin
theircommunitytohelpkeepitcleanandthreethingstheydotosaveenergyandwater.(57
minutes)
Teacherwillaskforstudentstoraisetheirhandtoshareoutoneoftheirideasandrecorditonthe
whiteboard.(57minutes)

Teacherwillthenaskstudentsthefollowingquestionstopromptdiscussion:
"Whydoyouthinkthesebehaviorsareimportantforourenvironment?"
"Whataresomeconsequencesthatwehaveseenasaresultoflackofsustainability?"

Studentswillgivetheirexamplesandthiswillleadintothetopicofextremeweather.
"Whatisthefirstthingthatcomestomindwhenyouthinkofextremeweather?"

Studentswillbegiventenminutestowriteintheirsciencenotebooktoreflectonthisquestion.Once
theyaredone,theywillwatch"ClimateChangeAroundtheWorldEpisode7)."Whenthevideois
finished,theteacherwillaskstudentstoraisetheirhandandgiveexamplesofextremeweatherand
thenegativeeffectsithasonourearth.Teacherwillcreateacirclemapontheboardwithstudents
responses.(10minutes)

Studentswillbegiventhedefinitionofaheatwaveandclimate.Theywillrecordthisinformationin
theirsciencejournals.Whenstudentsarefinished,theywillbegiventhearticleExploreHeat
Wavestoreadandanswerthequestionslistedontheworksheetattached.(1520minutes)

Threequestionswillbelistedontheboardforstudentstoanswer.Twowillberelatedtothevideo
theywatchedinclass,andthelastquestionwillbeaquestionstudentswillcontemplate.Asthe
Earthwarms,whatcontainsmoreenergyandwhatistheresultofthis?Duetoconsistentheat
waves,whataresomeofthenegativeoutcomespeopleareexperiencingthroughouttheworld?Give
twoexamplesfromthevideo.Whataresomethingswecandotohelpourenvironmentin
reducingfutureheatwaves?Givethreesuggestions."Studentswillrecordtheirresponsesintheir
sciencejournals.(15minutes)
RESOURCES

ClimateChangeAroundtheWorld(Episode7)[Motionpicture].(n.d.).USA:UtahEducationNetwork.
ExploreHeatwaves!(n.d.).RetrievedNovember1,2015,from
http://www.education.com/files/386201_386300/386274/weatherscienceheatwaves.pdf
WAYSOFTHINKINGCONNECTION
FuturesThinkingistheabilitytoforeseescenariosforacomfortableandsustainablefuture.
Withthislesson,studentswillbegiveninformationoncurrentevents(extremeweather/heatwavesand
climatechanges)tohelpformulateathoughtprocessinhowtheyliveascurrentcitizensandfuturecitizens.
Thepurposeofteachingstudentssustainabilityistoencouragecuriosityandinquiryasalearningapproach.
Itmayalsobuildonstudentscriticalthinkingskillsandethicalprincipals.Itwillalsodevelopanawareness
ofthenatureofscienceandteachthemtheconsequencesthatmayariseifchangesarenotmadetoprevent
futuredisasters.